The dual goal of the planned “people’s IPO” program is to create a wealth creation conduit for the Kazakh population and to bolster the development of domestic capital markets, Marcia Favale-Tarter, an investment banker and advisor to Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Masimov, told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Kazakhstan Business Forum in London last week.

The “people’s IPO,” a privatization program in which the Kazakh government will sell stakes in some of the country’s largest companies to domestic investors, will help create an investment culture among the Kazakh population, improve corporate governance, and bolster the development of the country’s investment infrastructure, according to Favale-Tarter. Air Astana, KEGOC, and KazTransOil will headline the offerings, but “all companies underare being evaluated.”

Timur Kulibayev, head of the state-owned holding Samruk-Kazyna and son-in-law of Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, was named the most influential Kazakh businessman in a ranking published this month by Forbes Kazakhstan, a local edition of the business magazine. Kulibayev, together with his wife Dinara Kulibayeva, owns Almex, a conglomerate with interest in banking, construction, mining, and other sectors. Kulibayev also heads the Kazenergy Association, an influential oil and gas lobbying group, and is said to hold significant interests in Kazakh energy sector.

Bulat Utemuratov, an influential advisor to Nazarbayev, was second on Forbes’ ranking. Utemuratov sold his stake in ATF Bank, Kazakhstan’s fifth largest bank, to the Italian banking group Unicredit at the top of the market in 2007 for $2.2 billion.

Through various investment vehicles he is involved in banking, metals and mining, real estate and telecommunications. Third on the list is Patokh Khodiev, one of the three founders and largest shareholders in the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), the world’s largest ferroalloys producer. Khodiev, who holds Belgian citizenship, controls various other mining and financial services assets, together with his two partners – Alexander Mashkevich and Adilzhan Ibragimov.

Mashkevich, an Israeli citizen and the most well-known of the trio of ENRC founders, ranks fourth, according to Forbes. Vladimir Kim, the chairman of Kazakhmys, Kazakhstan’s biggest copper miner, took fifth place in the ranking. Earlier this year, the U.S. edition of the Forbes magazine estimated Kim’s net worth at $4.7 billion, making him Kazakhstan’s richest man.

Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who owns Kazakhstan’s largest steel mill, ArcelorMittal Temirtau, was sixth on the list, followed by the last of the ENRC trio, Ibragimov. Chairman of Bank CenterCredit Bakhytbek Baiseitov was ranked eighth while Nurzhan Subkhanberdin, the controlling shareholder of Kazakhstan’s largest bank Kazkommertsbank, was ninth. Nurlan Smagulov, head of the industrial conglomerate Astana Group, rounded out the top ten.

(SRI) – Kazkommertsbank has received a third KZT19.3 billion ($130 million) tranche of government funding to finance stalled construction projects in Astana and Almaty, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

The funds will be used to fund residential construction by Global Building Contract (GBC), a joint venture between the state-owned holding and investment company Samruk-Kazyna and Kazkommertsbank. GBC has been set up in 2009 to finish the construction of several major residential development projects started by Kuat, once Kazakhstan’s largest construction company which had collapsed in the aftermath of the credit crunch in 2007. The company, whose executives have been accused of massive fraud, had halted work at a number of sites in Almaty and Astana.

Kazkommertsbank has already received two tranches worth KZT20 billion ($135 million) and KZT14.7 billion ($99 million) in December 2009 and November 2010, respectively.

Caspi Meruerty postpones drilling of exploration well
(SRI) – Caspi Meruerty Operating Company B.V. (CMOC) had to postpone the drilling of a planned exploration well at the Zhemchuzhina (Pearls) oil block in the Caspian Sea due to unavailability of suitable drilling equipment in the region, the Panorama business weekly reported on Friday.

KazMunaiGas net income grows 70% in first half
(SRI) – Kazakh national oil and gas company KazMunaiGas said its first-half net income increased 70% from a year earlier to KZT246.2 billion ($1.7 billion), the company said in a statement on Monday.

Halyk Bank H1 net income up 27%
(SRI) – Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s second-largest lender by assets, said on Tuesday its net income grew by 26.9% year-on-year to KZT21.1 billion ($144 million) in the first half of 2011.

(bne) – Shell and its partners developing the Kashagan oilfield will have to ask the Kazakh government for an extension to the 2013 deadline for the first oil from the troubled project, in what would be a humiliating move that could have dire consequences for the future of the project, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Kazakhstan’s uranium industry could lose its luster
(OilPrice.com) – Western investors have been salivating over the post-Soviet space’s energy riches since the 1991 collapse of communism. While focusing on the Caspian’s hydrocarbon reserves other mineralogical riches awaited development as well, none more so than Kazakhstan’s vast uranium deposits.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

On the move: Samruk-Kazyna
(SRI) – The state-owned holding and investment company Samruk-Kazyna has appointed Askar Karimullin as the new director for financial institutions management, the company said in a statement.

Kazakh banks see deposit outflows in May – National Bank
(SRI) – Kazakhstan’s banks posted a cumulative net income of $9 million in the month of May. Halyk Bank, the second largest lender, reported a net profit of $19 million for the month, while BTA Bank, the third largest bank, showed a net loss $33 million, the National Bank of Kazakhstan said.

Kazakhstan Kagazy reaches debt restructuring agreement with EBRD
(SRI) – Kazakhstan Kagazy, a Kazakhstan-focused paper producer and real estate developer listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), has come to an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the restructuring of its $38.6-million loan, the company said on Thursday.

No new shares for Kazakhmys Hong Kong listing
(SRI) – Kazakhstan’s largest copper miner Kazakhmys said Friday its board of directors has approved a secondary listing of the company’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June but the listing won’t result in the issue of new shares.

Kazakh opposition calls for halt to China expansion
(Reuters) – Opposition activists in Kazakhstan called on the government on Saturday to stop Chinese investment in the country’s natural resources, saying Beijing could be preparing a land grab in Central Asia.

New focus on “people’s IPO” following election
(bne) – With Kazakhstan’s presidential elections out of the way, the focus in Astana is on the “People’s IPOs”. Plans to sell minority stakes in various state-owned enterprises are a little behind schedule, but due to take place by the end of the year.

Kazkommertsbank issues $300-million Eurobond
(SRI) – Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s largest lender by assets, has placed a seven-year Eurobond worth $300 million at an annual rate of 8.50% on May 5, the bank said last week.

Kazakh bank BTA returns to profit, may sell assets
(Reuters) – Kazakh bank BTA is open to offers for its Belarussian and Turkish assets and will seek to expand lending to the retail sector and small businesses at home this year, the bank’s chief executive said last Thursday.

Glencore’s $7.6-billion Kazakh business under threat
(Telegraph) – Kazakhstan’s leading opposition figures have accused Glencore of benefiting from an illegal privatisation of assets, amid fears the recent commodities sell-off could hurt the company’s valuation or force it to pull its $61-billion flotation.

About

Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce in USA is located in New York. KazCham is an independent chamber associated with state agencies and businesses in Kazakhstan with the aim to provide members with current information on the political and investment climate, assist them in establishing government and business contacts, conduct searches of buyers and partners, organize forums and seminars, PR campaigns. Contact us at info@kazcham.com or follow on twitter.com @kazcham.